Alternative Eenergy Today

How much money do you spend each year on heating water for your home? If you want a break on the amount of money you pay for gas or electricity for heating water, try installing a solar water heater. This may reduce your cost of heating water by fifty percent or more.

There are a couple of designs of water heaters that depend on the sun and both work well, especially in warmer climates. A passive solar tank is simply a black tank that is installed on the roof that allows the water to be warmed by the sun. An active solar water heater will have collector panels on the roof and these collector panels are connected to the cold water supply and the storage tank in the home.

With either type of system, much of the system will be painted black as this allows the least reflection of the sun and causes the most heat to be absorbed by the system. The tank of the passive system is attached to the cold water supply of the home. The amount of water is regulated using a float. The hot water system becomes a gravity flow system that provides adequate pressure for household use.

The passive solar tank may require that you strengthen the roof structurally to hold the weight of the tank and the water. The solar collectors are light enough that there should not have to be any structural changes.

The passive systems are not appropriate for colder climates.

One way to install an active system that is very simple, is as a pre-heater for water that is then fed into the normal water heater. In some climates, this can provide significant savings as water that comes into the tank is already warmed. The water is then brought to temperature using the normal source of heat for the water. In other systems, a pump is used to circulate the water from the storage tank through the solar system for heating. If the solar collectors are not able to keep the water warm enough, the secondary system will bring it to the correct temperature.

With active systems, it is important to face the collector panels so that they get the most heat gain. They work very well on flat roofs, but if you do not have a flat roof, then they should be on the south facing side of the home’s roof.

Any time there is danger of freezing temperatures, there are special instructions for your solar water heating system. Be sure that you follow these instructions in order to avoid the possibility of freeze damage to the system.

In very cold climates, you may find a heat exchange system is the best investment. This system is filled with antifreeze and has a heat exchanger in the storage tank. A pump moves the solution through the solar collectors and then the heat exchanger to warm the water. The solution continues to circulate to bring the water to temperature.

If your electric or gas bill is much too high due to the cost of keeping water hot, why not buy a solar water heater and have 100 percent free hot water. More info on solar water heaters now a click away.